If you breathe in helium and talk it will make your voice sound funny. When you're finished squeaking, the helium you breathe out will most likely find its way out into space. Finding helium on Earth is rare, but it is one of the more common elements in the universe. Test your knowledge of helium facts with this fun ten question quiz.
Helium Facts Quiz
When you put together a home chemistry kit for yourself, don't forget to toss some coffee filters into the cabinet. Coffee filters are great for keeping dust and insects out of crystal growing projects while permitting evaporation, are just right for paper chromatography, and make excellent filters. Here are some projects that use coffee filters for home chemistry. if(zs>0){if(zSbL250)gEI("spacer").style.height=Math.floor(e[0].height/12)+17.5+'em';else{var zIClns=[];function walkup(e){if(e.className!='entry'){if(e.nodeName=='A'||e.style.styleFloat=='right'||e.style.cssFloat=='right'||e.align=='right'||e.align=='left'||e.className=='alignright'||e.className=='alignleft')zIClns.push(e);walkup(e.parentNode)}}walkup(e[0]);if(zIClns.length){node=zIClns[zIClns.length-1];var clone=node.cloneNode(true);node.parentNode.removeChild(node);getElementsByClassName("entry",gEI("articlebody"))[0].insertBefore(clone,gEI("spacer"))}}}};zSB(2);zSbL=0
Are you naturally curious about the world around you? If so, I bet you have lots of questions. Here are some common chemistry-related questions, complete with answers: Do you think you have all the answers? Try the 20 Questions Chemistry Quiz!if(zs>0){if(zSbL250)gEI("spacer").style.height=Math.floor(e[0].height/12)+17.5+'em';else{var zIClns=[];function walkup(e){if(e.className!='entry'){if(e.nodeName=='A'||e.style.styleFloat=='right'||e.style.cssFloat=='right'||e.align=='right'||e.align=='left'||e.className=='alignright'||e.className=='alignleft')zIClns.push(e);walkup(e.parentNode)}}walkup(e[0]);if(zIClns.length){node=zIClns[zIClns.length-1];var clone=node.cloneNode(true);node.parentNode.removeChild(node);getElementsByClassName("entry",gEI("articlebody"))[0].insertBefore(clone,gEI("spacer"))}}}};zSB(2);zSbL=0
A year ago today, NASA's Curiosity rover landed on Mars. The famous robotic chemist achieved the following over the past year: Traveled over a mile across the surface of Mars. Located and analyzed dry stream beds, offering evidence of flowing water on ancient Mars. Measured Martian radiation, which poses a health risk to human explorers. Found elements and chemical compounds essential for life. Became the first machine to drill into another planet. Congratulations on a fantastic first year, Curiosity! You're an amazing chemist! Next up for Curiosity is a 4-month-long trek to Mount Sharp, where she will examine the layered rocks that chronicle Martian geology. Overview of Instruments on Mars CuriosityPhysics underwent a fundamental change in the early part of the 20th Century away from Newton's physics. Einstein showed Newton's physics failed at speeds approaching the speed of light and introduced relativity while Schr?dinger found Newton failed on the microscopic level and introduced quantum mechanics. Dirac was instrumental in uniting the two. Dirac's equation explained why electrons spin and are magnetic. It also postulated the existence of negative energy, or anti-matter solutions to the wave equation. The anti-matter electron would soon be discovered by Carl Anderson and called a positron. This discovery would cement Dirac's place in physics and earn him part of the 1933 Nobel Prize in Physics.
Find out what else occurred on this day in science history.
Chemists use Avogadro's number in many calculations. This constant is the number of particles in a mole of a substance. It's an experimentally derived value that you can determine for yourself. One easy method uses electrochemistry to make the calculation. Current (electron flow) over time is measured in an electrochemical cell. The number of atoms in a weighed sample is related to the current to calculate Avogadro's number. You can read more about Avogadro or find out what else occurred on this day in science history.
Follow About.com Chemistry on Facebook or Twitter.
